Following its time-tested service introduction strategy, Amazon Web Services (AWS) used the virtual stage at Enterprise Connect 2021 to extend the availability of two new contact center capabilities from “preview” status to General Availability. One service, called Amazon Connect Wisdom (which will be discussed in a later post) is the cloud giants branding of an “agent assist” service. It starts with applying an in-call transcription and analytics service called Contact Lens and uses machine learning algorithms to match customer expressed issues with search results that cross a wide variety of information sources.

The other service, Amazon Connect Voice ID, “uses machine learning to provide real-time caller authentication and fraud risk detection to make voice interactions faster and more secure.” Note that the term “voice biometrics” does not appear anywhere in the service description even though Voice ID will find itself competing directly with voice biomtrics-based authentication and fraud reduction solutions from the likes of Auraya, NICE, Nuance, Phonexia, Sestek, Spitch, ValidSoft, Verint and VoiceIT who do not shy away from the term.

Last February we noted the introduction of a “preview” version of Voice ID for Contact Centers with great interest, calling it “Voice Biometrics Lite.” Amazon has used the months in preview to cement its geographic distribution and to create and add functions, capabilities and connect points. General Availability (GA) status makes the service available to contact center operators in the United States, Asia Pacific and Europe will be able to access the service through server farms in Northern Virginia, Oregon, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, London and Frankfurt.

Emphasis on Simplicity

To get started, registered individuals simply go to their AWS Console for Amazon Connect and click a button to enable Voice ID for an existing Amazon Connect instance. They are then able to start enrolling callers in the service by creating voiceprints based on attributes like rhythm, pitch, and tone and tone of voice. The service is both passive and text-independent, meaning that voiceprints are created and enrolled in the background and callers are not required to repeat a specific pass phrase.

When that individual calls again, his/her spoken words are compared to the existing voice print to produce a score, like “High Risk” or “Low Risk”, reflecting the likelihood that an incoming caller is an imposter. According to Amazon, roughly voiceprints are created from roughly 30 seconds of speech from a caller and authentication can be performed at an adequate level of confidence based on 5-10 seconds of utterances from the caller.

On its introductory page, AWS illustrates an enrollment widget that prominently features a line that says “BIPA Consent Acknowledgement for Amazon Connect Voice ID”. This reflects a Amazon’s awareness of the need to comply with the Biometric  Information Privacy Act, which, at a minimum requires “informed consent of the collection of biometric data prior to collection”. In the U.S. BIPA may vary from state to state and have clauses that govern how long voiceprints can be retained, used or disclosed, but we’ll leave that discussion to another post.

What is most striking about the Voice ID offer is its simple pricing. Amazon charges “$0.025 per transaction” on a monthly basis. Each enrollment, verification, fraud check is considered a separate transaction. Amazon doesn’t charge for capturing an individual customer’s requests to opt-in, opt-out or delete historical voiceprints or checking enrollment status in the course of a call. It also enables enrollments “in bulk” based on call recordings, and bills the same $0.025 per voiceprint created.

Amazon even includes Voice ID in its “Free Tier“. During a one-year trial period a business customer can perform up to 180 transactions each month.

And Now the Small Print

Amazon Connect Voice ID appears best suited for companies that are already engaged with AWS in some way shape or form. As one of the largest cloud service providers, it is a formidable list of prospects. Yet there are already rumblings among sophisticated enterprise customers who are concerned about “Cloud Lock In” and seem to seek the freedom of portability to the public or private cloud service provider of their choice.

Data privacy also looms over this type of Voice Biometrics Lite. On its introductory page, AWS illustrates an enrollment widget that prominently features a line that says “BIPA Consent Acknowledgement for Amazon Connect Voice ID”. This reflects a Amazon’s awareness of the need to comply with the Biometric  Information Privacy Act, which, at a minimum requires “informed consent of the collection of biometric data prior to collection”. In the U.S. BIPA may vary from state to state and have clauses that govern how long voiceprints can be retained, used or disclosed, and privacy concerns will always plague efforts to offer secure, personalized services.

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